1. Field
Example embodiments relate to a surgical robot system and a control method thereof which may transmit external force applied to surgical tools to an operator without a sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Minimally invasive surgery may minimize the size of a surgical incision. In contrast, open surgery may be performed through a large surgical window formed through a portion (for example, the abdomen) of a human body. Minimally invasive surgery may be conducted by observing an image after an endoscope and various surgical tools are inserted into a human body through at least one surgical hole (or invasive hole) having a size of 0.5˜1.5 cm formed in the human body.
Such minimally invasive surgery causes relatively less pain after surgery, allows a patient to more rapidly recover intestinal function and resume consumption of solid food, reduces hospital stay, allows the patient to rapidly return to a normal state, and has better aesthetics due to a narrow incisive range, in comparison to open surgery. Due to these advantages, minimally invasive surgery has been used in cholecystectomy, prostate cancer surgery, herniorrhaphy, etc., and application thereof have begun to increase.
In general, a surgical robot used in minimally invasive surgery includes a master device and a slave device. The master device generates a control signal according to operation of a surgeon and transmits the generated control signal to the slave device. The slave device receives the control signal from the master device and provides necessary operation required to perform surgery upon a patient. Surgery may be performed under the condition that the master device and the slave device are integrated or separately provided in an operating room.
The slave device is provided with at least one robot arm, and a surgical instrument is mounted at the end of each robot arm. Here, a surgical tool is mounted at the end of the surgical instrument.
In such minimally invasive surgery using the surgical robot, necessary surgery is performed by inserting the surgical tools and the surgical instruments with the surgical tools of the slave device into the body of a patient. After insertion of the surgical tools and the surgical instruments into the body of the patient, the internal state of the body of the patient is confirmed using an image collected through an endoscope, which is one of the surgical tools.
Further, in the above minimally invasive surgery using the surgical robot, the slave device is located adjacent to the patient and the master device remotely controls operation of the slave device. During surgery through such remote control, it may be desirable to transmit a feedback of the force applied between human tissues of a surgical site and the surgical tool of the slave device to an operator of the master device so that the operator may sense the force applied by the surgical tool.